


The Story of Tonight

by Panda365



Series: Tumblr Requests [14]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, She-Hulk (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Breaking the Fourth Wall, Cousins, Gen, Mourning, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Protective Siblings, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 12:34:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29874726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Panda365/pseuds/Panda365
Summary: Bruce heads to his cousin, Jennifer Walters post Endgame.*Tumblr Request
Series: Tumblr Requests [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2181882
Kudos: 5





	The Story of Tonight

Siblings have a complicated relationship. One moment you hate them for stealing your earbuds, for getting most of the attention, for being catered to. The age gap between you somehow vanished after the day you turned 18 and now you're missing your best friend.

Jennifer Walters hasn't seen her cousin, the man she considers her brother due to a complicated past. He'd always been prone to rage, jealous over his younger 'sibling' for having it all. Namely a family. 

The complex relationship between 'Aunt' Susan and Elaine caused the twosome to constantly be in contact with one another.

Need one forget the incident that led to Jennifer's tragic accident. If Bruce hadn't been there to share his blood in a transfusion, Jen would've died.

She owes him her life- a sad fact that she reminds herself of when he comes knocking.

The coincidence that they both happen to be green when he does ring that bell can't go unnoticed. It's impossible. Too obvious a fact to even try hiding behind the door.

"Jen!" Bruce nearly stumbles off the porch, his greener arm still stuck in a sling.

She can't help but laugh over the squeak in his pitch, leaning her hip against the door. It's been too long. No matter the color of his skin, she'd recognize her cousin any day;

"Hi Bruce."

She can think up eighty questions, hesitant to invite him inside amid refurbishments due to...well, growing a few feet and needing to change up the space you live in.

She runs a hand through her hair and waves through a flourish. They gave a few years to catch up on;

"Do you want to come inside?"

"You look great!"

"Thanks, I quite like the color, thanks for asking," She scoffs and fluffs her hair, locking the door behind him.

"Aww Jen…"

"Nope!' She lifts a finger, fully aware of the empathy in his stare, 'I'm not hosting a pity party. I like my color. I mean, frick- these abs! Look at 'em! I have a green six-pack!” 

She flexes proudly in her crop top, curving her back and eager to show off the extra perks of radioactive blood. He shakes his head. She amuses him. That's his cousin; loud and proud in more ways than one. Jennifer is kind, embracing her alter ego by using her enhanced muscle mass to save her corner of the world...possibly win the hearts of a few lovers no matter the gender.

She has an open hand and an open heart- especially for her cousin she'd jump in front of a bus for no matter how long he's disappeared for.

They catch up briefly; she pours him a tea and they discuss Susan. Her father next, family matters that turn personal. She's dating someone named 'Patsy' and she knows he's depressed even if he doesn’t say so outright. She can see the pain in his eyes, the outright avoidance on any topic regarding the ‘Avengers Initiative.’

Jennifer has seen those same dark circles behind his eyelids and forced smile before. It's nothing she's not accustomed to. He's lost, broken...literally. His tale of magical stones- she believes it. She's seen a few of her friends snapped back into their current reality. Of course her cousin was involved in the end of the world.

Offering a bed and a warm place to stay seems like the least she can do. She offers him a choice of about 70 pillows and they laugh over bed size, the partiality of the average mattress salesperson when they ask for something over 7 feet. It's finally something they can both find the humor in.

Jennifer has a call from her client that distracts her from the guest. For Walters, caring for people, being a lawyer who focuses on the empowered means you take calls at every hour, at any given moment.

While Jen preoccupies herself in the office with her client, Bruce is circling the living room. He's analyzing the various framed photographs of past and present figures.

She was always close with her mother; a bright photo of his aunt Elaine with Jen over some Christmas…

Christmas...he hates that holiday. The next framed photo to the right is some sort of diabolical science project the two of them worked on while she was in fifth grade. He was in high school at the time, wide framed glasses over his face while a half toothless Jennifer is holding her project up to Elaine's camera. Or...Maybe it was Susan's, he can't remember. The boy 'Bruce' looks about as lost as he currently feels- no smile, dark, confused.

Banner lifts it carefully, brushing his thumb over the edge. He had lost his mother, his life turned upside down in a new home with new people he barely knew. Susan's tried her hardest. He loved her but she would never be truly ‘enough’. She wasn’t his mother...

_'You're tiptoeing big guy, you need to strut…'_

Tiptoeing...Tony wasn't wrong. If he only knew…

Tiptoeing meant staying alive. It meant avoiding dad’s fist. It meant hiding...

Bruce swallows the lump in his throat. Tony...was he really gone? What would he do differently? What would he have told the guy? Did the chapter need to end too soon?

Bruce didn't get the chance to say 'goodbye'. To say 'thank you. Tony...he was the first 'Avenger' to view him as more than just some monster. To recognize his mind. To embrace all of who he was.

He swallows again and clears his throat, checking the cabinet of Jennifer's figurines in her clear crystal cabinet. The red ones catch his eye, the same way _she_ did...not so long ago.

Tony Stark had a heart...so did Natasha. That stubborn "callus" spy. She felt more than she let on. Self-sacrificing. She never gave herself enough credit…Natasha was strong. Kind. Soft underneath her harsh exterior. And with Bruce; they shared a connection, she understood him on some deep level he could never explain adequately. 

Jumping off a cliff- she deserved better. Bruce lifts a green finger over the glass of his cousin's cabinet.

When he snapped his fingers, when he lost his arm, he saw her. She was at peace- a moment he needs on repeat to soothe a guilty conscience. They talked...an intimate conversation he wishes he could share with someone who would understand...

_'I tried to bring her back…'_

He wants her back...what would he say if she showed up? If they got that second chance?

"Bruce?"

The tone in Jennifer's voice conveys concern and he's embarrassed, wiping his eye that suddenly feels a bit damp.

His voice breaks when he tries to cough, "Hi. Is everything okay? How was the client- your client."

"Fine. You're crying."

"I'm not crying."

"Tearing up then... Aww doc," Jennifer steps closer, instinctively wrapping her green arms around him.

Bruce let's her hold him from behind, his mind on everything they lost in order to save the 'dusted'. He's dizzy from the fighting, tired, needing his 'sister' now more than ever.

For now, Jen is there, really there. Tangible. Her warmth is overwhelming… or maybe it's the tint of red that comes beaming off her stones that makes him think of the battle of New York. The way the hulk held so tightly onto Tony Stark to ensure his friend was safe. The way Natasha would kindly capture his attention at overwhelming parties that made him uncomfortable. She had a way of making him laugh in their play. The way the Black Widow would soothe the hulk...

Jennifer tilts her head, her playful nature coming through in her tone when she calls for the 'doc', her childhood nickname for her cousin.

Bruce huffs through his tears, brushing one more time over both eyes.

She hums, her eyes on his broken arm and full of questions he’s casually been avoiding, "Do you wanna talk about it? I'm a good therapist. Sorta, I'm not really a therapist- but you know that."

He takes an inhale nodding almost helplessly. Therapy...he'd once sat on the couch and just listened to Tony ramble for a full 8 hours…

He laughs over the memory, "Yeah, I need that. I need to tell you about...them. And I want to hear about you..."

"Well! We better get started on that! Programming has a limit y'know. Television series limits- how long episodes can be- and writers get tired! They have a million things flowing through their mind no matter how much they like me. Like psh! I might be the favorite but how much can you write about Jennifer Walters am I right?! Write! Ha!"

"Huh?"

"Never you mind," she blinks twice as though she's mid glitch, offering a chair while she takes the other. Reaching for her glasses she tries her best to make him laugh, "Tell me. Tell me everything. From the top."

**Author's Note:**

> GOSH! If we don’t get that moment of actually letting Bruce feel some pain after endgame, then Marvel officially doesn’t understand the character.
> 
> And as for Jen! She’s my absolute fav. She’s a bad*** but she’s also absolutely hilarious! I feel like she’s listen, let Bruce feel his feelings for a bit, and then dump cold water on his head. She’d start up her car and start honking the horn, “Get in loser! We’re going hulking!”
> 
> What do you guys think? What are you most looking forward to in the She-Hulk series? Let me know!


End file.
